So, though Christmas is a distant memory, my thighs remind me every day of the food splendor that is Southern Italy, and in particular, Puglia!
These are eels, or anguille (anh-GWEE-lay) which are traditionall eaten (in Manfredonia and the Gargano area) for lunch on the 24th. The taste of eel really isn’t bad, except their spines are so pervasive that you feel like you are working really hard to get a few bites of eel. S doesn’t really like them but he has a tactic to not offend his mother. He picks apart the whole thing and at the end it’s quite difficult to tell if he’s really eaten anything!
Pettolle, (PEHT-toe-lay) or also known as fritelle (free-TEL-lay) in the rest of Italy, usually are eaten on the 24th in this area. Pettolle are pieces of fried dough – sometimes filled with cheese or mixed with pieces of parsley or onions but usually just plain. Many people like to buy them from the baker or pizzeria instead of making their own, I’ve discovered. Last year there were long lines of people waiting for them on the 24th.
These beauties are called cartellate (car-tell-LAH-teh) – traditionally Pugliese, they are pieces of dough formed into a flower shape, and sometimes dipped in wine or covered with a fig sauce, but the more popular version I have seen are those pictured (and made by my mother-in-law) – coated in honey and sprinkled with crushed almonds. They are usually fried but I’ve also had the baked version (not as good, IMO).
This is the polipo, or octopus, my MIL is holding up that will become our insalata di mare as pictured below. Insalata di mare differs by region and household, but this one is made with lots of vegetables sott’aceto (under vinegar) or pickled, with some fresh local olives.
A side note, for our post-wedding lunch reception we had in Manfredonia, we had the best polipo alla brace, grilled octopus, at Panorama del Golfo. They are one of the best restaurants in that area. Seafood is really important in this area, since it’s on the coast, but it’s possible in other parts of Italy they may eat non-red-meat on the 24th, like chicken or game like rabbit.
For the night of the 24th, we had orecchiette con scampi e zucchini in a cream sauce. On the 25th, we had the traditional tortellini e brodo soup for lunch – the tortellini is filled with meat, unlike the meals on the 24th which are traditionally meat-less.
On New Year’s Eve at lunch time we had the traditional lenticche lentils, which are supposed to represent money, with rice. That evening we had fritto misto, a mixture of fried seafood including calamari, shrimp, and crawfish.
The crowning glory and my favorite part of the holidays, we had an extra special treat. This entire thing is edible. The outer shell is chopped, carmelized almonds formed to make a shell, and inside, little marzipan fruit & vegetables are stacked on top of each other. There must have been about 40 of them, none crushed! I was never a big marzipan fan until I tasted these. Unfortunately, it’s really hard to find. This one was made in Ischitella, a small town in the Gargano region, and my suocero, father-in-law, called “someone he knew” a few days in advance and then picked it up. They make these in-house.
I’m still dreaming about it.
Puglia. Oh my god. Oh my thighs……my first summer there I gained 4 kilos in 2 weeks……!
Eels are also common in Rome for Christmas, not the skinny little ones either. The ones that are long and very, very thick. I have tried eating them once but did not really like them all that much. I kept thinking, “snake, snake snake” the whole time.